Colourful Ganesh festivities has Mumbai touch this time in Hyderabad

Traditionally, the devotees and organizers of various youth associations in twin cities worship ‘Bhojagapathi’ idols during Vinayaka Chatuthi every year. But the trend in Hyderabad has changed with several organizers preferring to celebrate the festival with Mumbai-style Ganesh idols.

Accordingly, the artisans and idol makers in Dhoolpet and Mangalhat are crafting idols in Mumbai style to cater to the needs of organizers. The Ganesh idol models of Mumbai’s famous ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ and ‘Ganesha sitting on five snakes and Garuda Vahanam Ganesha’ and another idol with the backdrop of Sun God are in huge demand.

Explaining the reasons behind increasing demand for Mumbai Ganesh idols in Hyderabad, Vikas Singh of Ganesh Singh Kalakar (GSK) Arts in Dhoolpet, said they were making idols as per the demand from organizers.

“We already made at least 30 different kinds of Mumbai style idols this time. The response from buyers was overwhelming and almost all the idols were booked,” Vikas said. The major advantages of these idols were that they could be customized and adjust the height depending upon the pandal in the locality and while during immersion procession.

He said an idol with a height ranging from eight to 20-foot was made as per the buyers’ choice. The idol above 16-foot height would mainly be worshipped in districts while those in twin cities prefer less than 15-foot height idol because of flyovers and Hyderabad Metro Rail bridges.

Vikas further explained that he roped in labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who are experienced in making these idols and added that as many as 300 kgs of Plaster of Paris (PoP) material was needed for making an eight-foot height idol.

Given the hard work in neatly crafting an idol with elegant looks, the idol makers are charging Rs.25,000 to Rs.4 lakh for each idol based on the height, design and background.